Inheriting a new context of growing up and moving out, boygenius push their style to the next steps as they realise their main audience and the difficulties they face have changed. True Blue feels like an active occasion from the supergroup trio to contend with life so far, the love between it and the inevitable stagnation that comes from the presentation of independence. Whether that independence is genuine is entirely different, but this piece from Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker is another interesting experiment in how the trio’s writing styles benefit from one another, the overlapping writing style giving clear reign for Dacus’ style more than anyone. The Album takes another step toward being an exciting supergroup project.
Boygenius’ guitar-based qualities are clear as ever, as they were on $20. Those steady qualities are the foundation of True Blue, but the real sincerity and power comes from the lyrics. Dacus takes full control here, an incredible working of lyrical quality that brings out some usual woes and at least tries to elevate them to a level of new understanding. Dacus and company still struggle to make the back and forth of longing a true asset to their lyrics and it all feels a bit obvious and lacking in self-belief, but they hook well and are complimented in their tempo by the instrumentals around it. Commitment is the core, that “true blue” love wrapping the track and its meaning up neatly.
Key to that neatness is the overarching meaning that begins to show through the EP tracks. Certainly the most engaged when it comes to the writing itself, the absolute quality can be spotted in those final words or the hooks that come through when weather is used as an emotional comparison. Their delivery is strong too, it is just the meaning that True Blue struggles to contend with. But those light scores with summery feel and lightness is to be expected to some degree. True Blue is drowned out by that somewhat, but it is only fair that it is when it chases down the mid-life crisis of the mid-20s so feverishly. Finding out more about the self, to “fuck around and find out”, feels like a nice quality to take for those who don’t find themselves with an image of their own.
Dacus’ writing takes it to that next level, quality, stunning lyricism that feels as though its message could be stronger. It certainly could be when lines as strong as “And it feels good to be known so well” are tucked away, hidden neatly in the nicely-layered True Blue. Even with those qualities, True Blue stands no chance of survival. A self-insert track that lends itself to those without an identity of their own, for those that need to connect with a supergroup to have any presence of style. A track about finding a unique image, ironically, will provide one for thousands. A good choice for a single, dependent on its writing quality rather than its outcome, but The Record, and True Blue too, feel as though they are on steady ground.
